Automotive Painting and body repairs.

[Motorsport3]

Don't mean to derail the chat but is someone could suggest a good bodyshop for my wife's Mercedes around SW London/Surrey would be much appreciated...

Btw, your Manta looks spectacular!

 

[philw696]

Just came up on my memories the first picture I saw of the Manta and bought it blind without a PPI too.

 

[zagatoes30]

Just came up on my memories the first picture I saw of the Manta and bought it blind without a PPI too.
View attachment 102810

I think the Manta shape was better without the side skirts

 

[Nibby]

Don't mean to derail the chat but is someone could suggest a good bodyshop for my wife's Mercedes around SW London/Surrey would be much appreciated...

Btw, your Manta looks spectacular!

View attachment 102796
View attachment 102797

Whoever you get to do it make sure it’s blended in, silver is a nightmare to get an exact match.

 

[Jamin]

Mine when I was a younger man, like many of the old snotters I had, who knew they would be worth locking away in a barn

 

[Nibby]

Looking good Phil.
If someone’s getting their car resprayed I always say to them get an extra couple of litres of paint to hold on to so you don’t have any trouble matching the paint for repairs at a later date.

 

[Geo]

Great work Phil, it takes me back to my Lotus days. All DIY back then due to lack of dosh.

 

[philw696]

Second coat of 2K now on and very pleased

 

[Oneball]

What’s the big recess in the b pillar for?

 

[philw696]

What’s the big recess in the b pillar for?

Has a slatted black plastic panel that goes on there for ventilation.

 

[CatmanV2]

Looking good Phil.
If someone’s getting their car resprayed I always say to them get an extra couple of litres of paint to hold on to so you don’t have any trouble matching the paint for repairs at a later date.

Surely the paint on the car fades, though? Same like the paint in the garage no longer matches the paint on my walls.

C

 

[Nibby]

Surely the paint on the car fades, though? Same like the paint in the garage no longer matches the paint on my walls.

C

Your far better having some of the paint you sprayed the car with. The reason why paint shops find it hard to match is because the mixing formula will be slightly different resulting in a different shade, I cleaned my black car yesterday, a 2012 Focus which is black as the day it left the factory. Silver seems the worse to match, so many times I’ve seen silver cars that have odd panels resprayed rather than blended and looks terrible all because it’s near impossible to have a mix made up identical to the factory coat.

 

[moonmonkey]

Good work Phil, looking really good.

Just dropped the rear axle off my Manta and getting ready to clean, paint and rebuild with LSD, Fast Road Springs, Bilsteins and rear Disc Brake conversion.

I’m amazed at how solid it is underneath for a 35 year old car, when you clean the waxoil and under seal off it is like new


And talking of bodywork, I got this back today after a full chassis restoration and respray

 

[philw696]

@moonmonkey the Manta is really well engineered compared to the Ford Escort and really should be worth a lot more especially with equally good Motorsport history and piloted by some legends too.
What brakes are you using for the rear ?

 

[moonmonkey]

@moonmonkey the Manta is really well engineered compared to the Ford Escort and really should be worth a lot more especially with equally good Motorsport history and piloted by some legends too.
What brakes are you using for the rear ?

Hi Phil

Yes I agree a Mark 1 or Mark 2 Escort was a poorly engineered chassis which did well in rallying due to having one of the best engines of the century. Look at the lengths Ford Motorsport went to get it to handle, with the 1981 Monte Carlo cars becoming part of rallying folklore.

The Manta was a better engineered car, but just not as popular in the UK vs Germany where they made feature films about Mantaman.

This is my 8th Manta, and I rallied Mantas for 25 years because i think they are better cars particularly on tarmac. Prices for 70’s fast Fords are still higher, but good Mantas are starting to fetch reasonable prices. Circa £18-25k for a good one these days.


The rear disc conversion uses Astra G rear discs. You have to get the early ones with the 4 stud PCD not the later 5 stud ones, and Astra G rear calipers. The discs are 240mm x 10mm. The only faff is handbrake cable. All the kit is readily available from motorfactors/ Manta specialist. I can PM details if you interested.

 

[philw696]

Hi Phil

Yes I agree a Mark 1 or Mark 2 Escort was a poorly engineered chassis which did well in rallying due to having one of the best engines of the century. Look at the lengths Ford Motorsport went to get it to handle, with the 1981 Monte Carlo cars becoming part of rallying folklore.

The Manta was a better engineered car, but just not as popular in the UK vs Germany where they made feature films about Mantaman.

This is my 8th Manta, and I rallied Mantas for 25 years because i think they are better cars particularly on tarmac. Prices for 70’s fast Fords are still higher, but good Mantas are starting to fetch reasonable prices. Circa £18-25k for a good one these days.
View attachment 102871

The rear disc conversion uses Astra G rear discs. You have to get the early ones with the 4 stud PCD not the later 5 stud ones, and Astra G rear calipers. The discs are 240mm x 10mm. The only faff is handbrake cable. All the kit is readily available from motorfactors/ Manta specialist. I can PM details if you interested.

I would appreciate that

 

[philw696]

Popped up on my memories.
10 years ago the £300 that I actually gave the guy £350 for BMW M3 3.0 that I gave a quick tidy up new front wings and rear arches to purely use for Trackdays and some of you saw it at Llandow on my Tradeplates.

 

[conaero]

So Phil, spraying 2k without an oven, I know it’s dangerous stuff and you cant breath it in can you explain your process to the rest of us, Inc safety/mask type?

 

[Oneball]

I did the Corvette in 2k. You don’t need an oven but you should choose a product that is designed to dry at room temp.

The dangerous chemicals in 2k are isocyanates. You can get filter masks (organic vapour) that will filter them out. This is what I did but they have some drawbacks. They come sealed and have a very limited life (hours) outside the packet. This reduces when the are actually filtering out chemicals maybe 5-30mins. The big danger with isocyantes is they are odourless (they’re not the smelly bit of paint) so you can neither tell when the room is free of them nor when the mask has stopped filtering them. This is the main reason that air fed masks are recommended. I reckon I spent £150-200 pounds on filters to do one car. It starts to quickly get pretty economical to use an air fed system.

 

[philw696]

Very Well explained above by Tim and its nasty stuff for sure but it didn't stop birds nesting in the workshop and having young.